04 / About
A Denver heating and cooling shop that answers its own phone.
NorthStar is eight people, five trucks and one simple rule: tell the customer what is wrong, what it costs and what we would do in their place. We have run the business that way since 2009.
- Founded
- 2009
- Globeville, Denver
- Technicians
- 5
- 46 years combined
- Trucks
- 5
- Stocked for first-visit fixes
- On call
- 365
- Nights a year
A / How we work
Four rules on every call.
Price before work
Every repair is priced from our flat-rate book and approved by you in writing before a tool comes out. The invoice matches the quote.
Repair and replace, side by side
On older systems we write up both options on the same visit, with the numbers, so the decision is yours and not a sales pitch.
Employees, not subcontractors
The person who shows up works for NorthStar, drives a NorthStar truck and is trained on the same checklist as everyone else.
Leave it cleaner
Floor runners and drop cloths on every visit, old parts shown to you before they go in the truck, and photos of the finished work in your portal.
B / Technicians
The people in the trucks.
You will know who is coming before they arrive: dispatch texts the technician's name when the job is assigned, and again when they are 30 minutes out.
- TRUCK 01
Declan Ward
Lead Service Technician
Declan has diagnosed Front Range systems for sixteen years and trains every new NorthStar technician. He is the one we send when a problem has already stumped someone else.
Specialties
Heat pumps · Refrigerant leaks · Hard diagnostics
Training and certifications
- NATE: Air Conditioning
- NATE: Heat Pumps
- EPA 608 Universal
16 years in the trade
- TRUCK 02
Anika Rao
Installation Lead
Anika runs every replacement from load calculation to startup. She measures before she quotes, so the system you buy is the size your house needs.
Specialties
System replacement · Load calculations · Duct design
Training and certifications
- NATE: Air Distribution
- EPA 608 Universal
- Manual J load calculation
12 years in the trade
- TRUCK 03
Diego Alvarez
Senior Heating Technician
Diego handles furnaces, boilers and anything that burns gas. He carries a combustion analyzer on every call and shares Saturday and on-call coverage with Jamal.
Specialties
Furnaces · Boilers · Combustion safety
Training and certifications
- NATE: Gas Heating
- EPA 608 Universal
- Combustion analysis
9 years in the trade
- TRUCK 04
Tessa Novak
Service Technician
Tessa leads the Comfort Club tune-up program and our indoor air quality work. Customers ask for her by name because she explains what she found in plain words.
Specialties
Tune-ups · Indoor air quality · Smart thermostats
Training and certifications
- NATE: Air Conditioning
- EPA 608 Type II
- Indoor air quality training
6 years in the trade
- TRUCK 05
Jamal Ortiz
Service Technician
Jamal came up through our apprenticeship and now handles duct repairs, thermostat installs and a full tune-up route. He also assists Anika on installs.
Specialties
Ductwork · Maintenance · Thermostat wiring
Training and certifications
- EPA 608 Type II
- NATE Ready-to-Work
3 years in the trade
C / The office
Who you talk to.
A real person answers from 7 AM on weekdays and 8 AM on Saturdays. After hours, the on-call technician picks up the emergency line directly.
Ray Castellanos
Owner
Still reviews every replacement estimate before it goes out, and still answers the on-call phone one weekend a month.
Lena Brooks
Dispatch lead
The voice on the phone at 7 AM. Lena builds the day's board, calls every new request back and knows which technician fits which job.
Carmen Ruiz
Office and billing
Invoices, Comfort Club renewals, utility rebate paperwork and financing applications. If a number looks wrong, Carmen fixes it.
D / Since 2009
One van to five trucks.
2009
Ray Castellanos leaves commercial refrigeration, buys a used van and starts fixing furnaces in north Denver.
2012
Declan Ward joins as the first employee. The second truck goes on the road.
2016
Comfort Club starts with 40 members. Today more than half of our tune-ups are member visits.
2019
We move into the Quarry Mill Road shop, with a parts room big enough to fix most calls on the first visit.
2022
The whole team trains on cold-climate heat pumps and dual fuel systems for Front Range winters.
2026
Online service requests, a customer portal and estimates you can approve from your phone.
The business, people and history on this page are fictional.